LIFE FOR BIODIVERSITY
LIFE FOR BIODIVERSITY
The Importance of Ecosystems Conservation in Biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity encompasses not only species that are rare, threatened, or endangered but also all forms of life, from humans to organisms we are less familiar with, such as microbes, fungi, and invertebrates.
Biodiversity is important to most aspects of our lives. It is valued both for what it provides to humans, and for the value it has in its own right. Utilitarian values include the many basic needs humans obtain from biodiversity such as food security, climate change resistance, medicine, human protection and fuel.
Ecosystems provide essential services such as pollination, spread seeds, regulate our climate, purify water, recycle nutrients properly, and even control pests that threaten crops.
Preserving the health of ecosystems ensures access to food through to vital role of animal pollinators and other key resources, such as the active ingredients of certain medicines contained in plants and herbs. Healthy and diverse ecosystems maintain natural balance by contributing to air and water purification, climate regulation and flood prevention.
Biodiversity also offers the potential for discovering new medicines and other yet-unknown services that could benefit humanity.
Biodiversity is important to most aspects of our lives. It is valued both for what it provides to humans, and for the value it has in its own right. Utilitarian values include the many basic needs humans obtain from biodiversity such as food security, climate change resistance, medicine, human protection and fuel.
Ecosystems provide essential services such as pollination, spread seeds, regulate our climate, purify water, recycle nutrients properly, and even control pests that threaten crops.
Preserving the health of ecosystems ensures access to food through to vital role of animal pollinators and other key resources, such as the active ingredients of certain medicines contained in plants and herbs. Healthy and diverse ecosystems maintain natural balance by contributing to air and water purification, climate regulation and flood prevention.
Biodiversity also offers the potential for discovering new medicines and other yet-unknown services that could benefit humanity.
PHENGARIS ARION
LARGE BLUE BUTTERFLY
LARGE BLUE BUTTERFLY
Biodiversity is under increasing pressure from human activities, with species across ecosystems facing unprecedented threats. The Large Blue butterfly (Phengaris arion) serves as a striking example of how habitat loss, fragmentation, and other human-induced changes impact wildlife. Over the last century, human dominance has extensively modified habitats, leading to what many call the "Anthropocene." Current rates of biodiversity loss threaten ecological stability on a global scale. Major direct threats to species like the Large Blue include habitat destruction, unsustainable resource use, invasive species, pollution, and climate change. The underlying causes of these threats, such as population growth and overconsumption, are complex and interconnected.
Large Blue, is highly dependent on specific grassland ecosystems, particularly those shaped by low-intensity farming, where Wild Thyme (Thymus polytrichus) or Oregano (Origanum vulgare) and host ant species Myrmica sabuleti are found in abundance.
The butterfly's life cycle is uniquely adapted to these conditions, relying on a delicate balance between plant availability and its symbiotic relationship with the host ants.
The butterfly's life cycle is uniquely adapted to these conditions, relying on a delicate balance between plant availability and its symbiotic relationship with the host ants.
Large Blue exhibits a unique relationship with the ant species Myrmica sabuleti, relying on them during specific periods of its larval and pupal stages.
This intricate ecological interdependence underscores the butterfly's vulnerability to habitat disruption and loss.
The butterfly larvae engage in obligatory myrmecophily, attracting ants with a mix of sugars and amino acids secreted from their dorsal glands and mimicking the shape of ant larvae. This relationship begins when the butterfly larvae, after an initial phase of feeding on host plants reach the ground and employ advanced mimicry to infiltrate ant colonies.
This intricate ecological interdependence underscores the butterfly's vulnerability to habitat disruption and loss.
The butterfly larvae engage in obligatory myrmecophily, attracting ants with a mix of sugars and amino acids secreted from their dorsal glands and mimicking the shape of ant larvae. This relationship begins when the butterfly larvae, after an initial phase of feeding on host plants reach the ground and employ advanced mimicry to infiltrate ant colonies.
Once inside the ant nests, the butterfly larva eats ant larvae until it pupates the following spring. Butterfly larva can consume over 200 ant larvae during their development, potentially declining the ant population.
The species is of significant conservation concern due to its specialized habitat requirements, grasslands, and the threat posed by habitat degradation and loss.
The decline of Large Blue is primarily attributed to habitat loss and degradation due to:
The decline of Large Blue is primarily attributed to habitat loss and degradation due to:
agricultural intensification that reduces the diversity and abundance of wildflowers like Wild Thyme and negatively impacts the nesting sites of Myrmica sabuleti.
changes in land use such as urbanization or afforestation, which fragment or eliminate the open grassland ecosystems critical for the butterfly's survival.
abandonment of traditional land management practices such as low-intensity grazing or mowing, leading to overgrown vegetation, including shrubs (Rosa canina, Prunus spinosa, Rubus fruticosus) and tall grasses that renders habitats unsuitable for both host plants and ants.
Climate change threatens biodiversity by disrupting ecosystems and the services they provide.
Rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events degrade habitats, shift species distributions, and disturb life cycles such as breeding and migration.
Aquatic habitats such as wetlands, ponds, and pools are especially vulnerable to climate and land-use changes. They are crucial for biodiversity and water regulation, providing essential refuge for amphibians. Degradation of these habitats reduces water retention, increasing the risk of droughts, floods, and the decline of water-dependent species.
Conserving ecosystems is essential for sustaining biodiversity, as healthy ecosystems support a wide range of species and provide critical services such as air, water, and soil purification, climate regulation, pollination, and food security.
Biodiversity is not only vital for rare or endangered species but also for everyday human needs providing medicine, fuel, and resilience against environmental change.
Rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events degrade habitats, shift species distributions, and disturb life cycles such as breeding and migration.
Aquatic habitats such as wetlands, ponds, and pools are especially vulnerable to climate and land-use changes. They are crucial for biodiversity and water regulation, providing essential refuge for amphibians. Degradation of these habitats reduces water retention, increasing the risk of droughts, floods, and the decline of water-dependent species.
Conserving ecosystems is essential for sustaining biodiversity, as healthy ecosystems support a wide range of species and provide critical services such as air, water, and soil purification, climate regulation, pollination, and food security.
Biodiversity is not only vital for rare or endangered species but also for everyday human needs providing medicine, fuel, and resilience against environmental change.
BUFO BUFO
COMMON TOAD
COMMON TOAD
Amphibians, including frogs, newts, and salamanders, play a crucial role in numerous ecosystems. The decline in Bufo bufo populations is primarily attributed to the loss of suitable sites for adult reproduction and larval development. Small, periodic or permanent pools, wetlands, and viatelmas are vital for amphibians. These habitats are an essential component of our fauna and flora.
Climate change, characterized by severe drought and increasing temperatures, is exacerbating the desiccation and metabolic alterations of the Common toad.
Human activities, including urban development, intensive agriculture, landscape degradation, and alterations to the water regime, result in habitat disruption and pose a threat to the toad population.
Climate change, characterized by severe drought and increasing temperatures, is exacerbating the desiccation and metabolic alterations of the Common toad.
Human activities, including urban development, intensive agriculture, landscape degradation, and alterations to the water regime, result in habitat disruption and pose a threat to the toad population.
Bufo bufo, the Common toad, is a species that needs specific habitats throughout its various life stages. It requires aquatic environments, such as pools and wetlands, for reproduction, where the larvae undergo development.
Outside the breeding season, adult toads inhabit terrestrial areas rich in insects, invertebrates and smaller vertebrates. Additionally, they seek shelter for hibernation under stones, logs, or leaf litter.
Rising temperatures and prolonged droughts increase water loss in breeding sites and disrupt the toad’s metabolism and reproductive success.
In addition to habitat loss, changes in water regimes and land use reduce the availability of suitable shelters and food sources.
Outside the breeding season, adult toads inhabit terrestrial areas rich in insects, invertebrates and smaller vertebrates. Additionally, they seek shelter for hibernation under stones, logs, or leaf litter.
Rising temperatures and prolonged droughts increase water loss in breeding sites and disrupt the toad’s metabolism and reproductive success.
In addition to habitat loss, changes in water regimes and land use reduce the availability of suitable shelters and food sources.
Bufo bufo, the Common toad, plays a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem balance and serves as a significant bioindicator. Its ecological significance is underscored by its involvement in interspecific relationships, as well as by the Common toad’s reproductive strategy: it lays its eggs in jelly-like cases that protect them from drying out, pathogens, and predators.
Additionally, the dark secretion surrounding the eggs helps to warm them and accelerate their development.
Tadpoles consume algae and small animals, contributing to the cleaning of aquatic habitats.
Additionally, the dark secretion surrounding the eggs helps to warm them and accelerate their development.
Tadpoles consume algae and small animals, contributing to the cleaning of aquatic habitats.
Bufo bufo, the Common toad,consumes insects, earthworms, snails, and various other invertebrates, occasionally preying on small rodents. In turn, it becomes a target for predators, including the River otter (Lutra lutra), the buzzard (Buteo buteo), the Great horned owl (Bubo bubo), and the White stork (Ciconia ciconia).
The Common toad serves as a host for parasites, including the fly Lucilia bufonivora, whose larvae consume its tissues.
The Common toad serves as a host for parasites, including the fly Lucilia bufonivora, whose larvae consume its tissues.
The Common toad is safeguarded across the EU for various reasons. The primary factors endangering its population include
LANDSCAPE FRAGMENTATION
Roads and development make it impossible for toads to migrate between habitats and reduce genetic diversity (the more genetic differences, the more resistant the population is to disease and climate change).
TEMPERATURE
Development and deforestation contribute to elevated temperatures in the environment. Temperature influences the metabolism of tadpoles and alters the activity of insects, which serve as food for adult toads.
AGRICULTURAL AND FISHING ACTIVITIES
Intensive agricultural practices and poor management (excessive fish feeding, pesticide application, waterway pollution) contribute to the decline of Common toads.
AQUATIC HABITATS
The Common toad, similar to other amphibians such as the Common frog (Rana temporaria) and the Common salamander (Salamandra salamandra), requires aquatic habitats for larval development.
PATHOGENS
The Common toad faces threats from pathogens like chytridiomycosis. This pathogen attacks the skin, disrupting respiration and water absorption. Chytridiomycosis is a major factor in the decline of amphibians worldwide.